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Mary Gilbert was the first European woman to live in the
She was the daughter of one John Duff, and was married to James Gilbert, blacksmith. The Gilberts were pioneer settlers who disembarked on the banks of the
Fitzroy Gardens - Statue of Mary Gilbert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Mary 1878 deaths Settlers of Melbourne Year of birth missing
Port Phillip
Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...
settlement of Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
Life
She was the daughter of one John Duff, and was married to James Gilbert, blacksmith. The Gilberts were pioneer settlers who disembarked on the banks of the Yarra River
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The lower st ...
and set up camp on 30 August 1835. The schooner '' Enterprize'', owned by John Pascoe Fawkner
John Pascoe Fawkner (20 October 1792 – 4 September 1869) was an early Australian pioneer, businessman and politician of Melbourne, Australia. In 1835 he financed a party of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania), to sail ...
, had brought them and other settlers from Launceston, Tasmania, where she had married James at the age of eighteen.
The initial landing party included Captain John Lancey, master mariner, the landing party's leader and Fawkner's representative; George Evans, builder; carpenters William Jackson and Robert Hay Marr; ploughman Charles Wise; blacksmith James Gilbert and his pregnant wife, Mary; and Evan Evans, George Evans' servant.
On 29 December 1835, Mary gave birth to her son, James Melbourne Gilbert, the first European child born in the new district. She was given of land and a town allotment. A life-sized bust of Mary Gilbert can be found at the Conservatory, in the Fitzroy Gardens
The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares (64 acres) located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne central business district in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and ...
. The sculpture was created by the Melbourne artist, Ailsa O'Connor (1921–1980).
On 30 April 1837, Mary gave birth to a second son, Charles Phillip Gilbert, also fathered by her husband, James. According to the transcription of her death, two other sons were John and William.
Although James (possibly later known as John) Melbourne Gilbert was not known to have any offspring, his younger brother Charles was known to have fathered at least eight children to his wife Amelia in both Victoria and New South Wales.
She was accidentally burnt to death in a bush fire at South Talbingo, Tumut River
The Tumut River (), a perennial stream that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Snowy Mountains and South West Slopes districts of New South Wales, Australia.
Location and features
The T ...
, New South Wales, on 20 February 1878, and buried on the Cumberland Range on 24 February that year.
See also
*History of Melbourne
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
External links
Fitzroy Gardens - Statue of Mary Gilbert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Mary 1878 deaths Settlers of Melbourne Year of birth missing